UN must investigate the TGTE and its call to create an Independent State of Tamil Eelam

Let the memory of these dark days of Black July instill in us the conviction that the one and only means by which Tamils can reach a life of safety and dignity would be the creation of an independent State of Tamil Eelam. With that same conviction, let us rededicate ourselves on this day to action, action that will transform the sacred responsibility of an absolute freedom for our people, into a reality that we can all celebrate someday soon

The Thirst of Tamils is Tamil Eelam

The above words were spoken by the Prime Minister of the  Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) – Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran at the 30th annual Black July Remembrance Day event held at Melbourne Hungarian Community centre on Saturday July 27th 2013.

This event was organized by the Australian Tamil Solidarity –Victoria with participation of many organizations. This event commemorated the death of over

It was recently reported in the media that the TGTE urged US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power to help initiate an international investigation on Sri Lanka under UN Article 99. A letter had been sent to the US Ambassador to the UN by Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran the Prime Minister of Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE), urging Ms. Power to exercise US diplomatic and moral power to persuade UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to appoint an International Investigation on Sri Lanka, under Article 99 of the UN Charter

Article 99 contained in Chapter XV of the UN Charter titled ‘The Secretariat’ merely states that ‘The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.’

If Rudrakumaran states that there are matters affecting Sri Lanka which in the opinion of the Secretary General may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security it is up to him to explain what such matters are. If Rudrakumaran could specify any such matter presently prevailing in Sri Lanka then it is up to the Secretary General of the United Nations to form his opinion whether such matters threaten the maintenance of international peace and security. If in the opinion of the Secretary General such matters exist presently in Sri Lanka then he could bring such matters to the attention of the Security Council. It is ridiculous for any person let alone a lawyer like Rudrakumaran to surmise or suggest that there are such matters existing presently in Sri Lanka.

If he were to suggest that such conditions existed in Sri Lanka during the horrific rule of his dear departed barbaric leader Prabharkaran in northern Sri Lanka it may have been acceptable for the Secretary General to refer such matters to the Security Council. It is unfortunate that persons like Rudrakumaran living in the lap of luxury in the United States on the immense wealth pouring in to the TGTE extracted from members of the diaspora, who are either threatened or mis-led to donate part of their earnings to this terrorist organization to rake out some unfortunate happenings in the past and sow the seeds of dissension, disharmony and fan communal hatred in this

manner in order to re-kindle an uprising in Sri Lanka which would lead to the atrocities committed in those three decades of horror the people of all races in this beautiful island experienced during the era of the now defunct LTTE.

It is persons like Rudrakumaran and his cohorts in the TGTE that has become a threat to the maintenance of international peace and security by advocating an armed struggle in Sri Lanka to establish a State of Tamil Eelam as indicated by the statements quoted at the beginning of this piece. The Secretary General will do well to initiate an investigation in to the activities of the TGTE in attempting to rejuvenate an armed struggle in Sri Lanka and prohibit the operation of the TGTE in countries like USA,UK and Canada and some other countries of the European Union. This organization by its own statement is a terrorist outfit and funding such entities is prohibited under international law.

If the Taliban or the Al Qaeda were to set up a Transnational  Government of Islamic Jihad targeting countries

presently hosting the TGTE the United Nations would have not condoned any such organization. The UN must beware of adopting duplicitous attitudes in respect of any terrorist organization in the world which finally results in murder, mayhem and destruction to the human race, a great majority of whom are innocent peace loving persons.

Rudrakumaran ,who is a lawyer and the former international legal adviser to the diabolical leader of the barbaric LTTE ,Prabhakaran, who brought misery to the Sri Lankan people for three long decades, has said in the letter to the US Ambassador to the UN that UN’s Expert Panel Report on Sri Lanka, the UN Internal Review Report on Sri Lanka and one of the UN Expert Panelist Professor Steven Ratner have all concluded that there is neither the political environment nor the judicial environment in Sri Lanka for dispensing justice domestically.(Accountability and the Sri Lankan Civil War 106 Am. J. Int’l L, 795).

Thus justice can be achieved only through international means. Given the political considerations prevalent in the UN Human Rights Council, the TGTE believed that an international investigation could be established under Article 99 of the U.N. Charter. TGTE congratulated Samantha Powers on her Senate Confirmation of her appointment as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the U.N and said that the. TGTE is mobilizing international civil society to apply moral pressure on the UN Secretary General, to appoint an international investigation on Sri Lanka. It was brought to Ambassador Power’s attention that the TGTE is in the process of collecting endorsements from 1000 Non- Government organizations for investigations on Sri Lanka under Article 99 of the U.N. Charter

The legality of an illegal organization advocating terrorism and separatism making such demands under international law is indeed in doubt.The visit of Navi Pillai, the UN Rapporteur on Human Rights to Sri Lanka would be a very good opportunity for Sri Lanka to establish the hypocrisy of such demands by exhibiting the peace and racial harmony that presently exists in Sri Lanka, The north and east have recovered from the ravages of the civil strife and the ex LTTE combatants are leading normal peaceful lives having being integrated in to the community.

All patriotic Sri Lankans living all over the world must unite as one to prevent any international interference in Sri Lanka thus averting an unfortunate situation as seen in Iraq and Libya after such interventions which will undoubtedly result in misery and destruction in our beloved motherland.

 

– Lakshman I.Keerthisinghe LLB, LLM.MPhil,

Attorney-at-Law

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